'What has happened?' quoth he.
But the poor bedraggled thing could only gasp out feebly—
'The old wife was dyed—
The nasty old cat!
And I, the gay bride,
Fell into the vat!'
Whereupon the cock-sparrow took her up tenderly in his bill, and flew away home with his precious burden. Now, just as he was crossing the big river in front of his house, the old hen-sparrow, in her gay dress, looked out of the window, and when she saw her old husband bringing home his young bride in such a sorry plight, she burst out laughing shrilly, and called aloud, 'That is right! that is right! Remember what the song says—
'Old wives must scramble through water and mud,
But young wives are carried dry-shod o'er the flood.'
This allusion so enraged her husband that he could not contain himself, but cried out,' Hold your tongue, you shameless old cat!'
Of course, when he opened his mouth to speak, the poor draggled bride fell out, and going plump into the river, was drowned. Whereupon the cock-sparrow was so distracted with grief that he picked off all his feathers until he was as bare as a ploughed field. Then, going to a pîpal tree, he sat all naked and forlorn on the branches, sobbing and sighing.
'What has happened?' cried the pîpal tree, aghast at the sight.
'Don't ask me!' wailed the cock-sparrow; 'it isn't manners to ask questions when a body is in deep mourning.'
But the pîpal would not be satisfied without an answer, so at last poor bereaved cock-sparrow replied—